Information processing apparatus, print data forming method, print control program, and memory medium

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus for forming print data to be print-processed by a printer is constructed by: designation receiving means for receiving designation of a duplex printing, discriminating means for discriminating the number of pages in the case where data to be printed has been arranged on a recording paper, and command adding means for receiving the designation of the duplex printing by the designation receiving means and, in the case where it is determined by the discriminating means that the number of pages of the recording paper on which the data to be printed has been arranged is equal to an odd number, adding a command to urge a forced paper ejection in the printer lest a blank page of the last page is logically counted in the printer. A print data forming method and a print control program for realizing such an apparatus and a memory medium which stores such a program are provided. When the last page is printed as a blank page in the printer in a duplex printing mode, the print data is formed lest the last blank page is counted up by a counter.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of application Ser. No.11/290,577, filed Dec. 1, 2005 (now allowed), which is a divisionalapplication of application Ser. No. 09/949,875, filed Sep. 12, 2001, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,092,111, which issued Aug. 15, 2006 and which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a printdata forming method, a print control program, and a memory medium inwhich such a program has been stored. More particularly, the inventionrelates to an information processing apparatus for forming print data ofa host computer or the like, a method of forming print data, a printcontrol program, and a memory medium in which such a program has beenstored.

2. Related Background Art

In an information processing apparatus such as a host computer or thelike in which a printer driver program for forming print data to beprinted by a printer has been set up, draw data (print command)requested from an application through an OS is converted by using aprinter driver into a page description language (hereinafter, alsoreferred to as a PDL) which can be interpreted by the printer.

According to the recent printer driver, by processing a function in theprinter on the printer driver side, even a printer having a low functioncan provide a function similar to the advanced function of the printerto the user. For example, in case of a printer for ejecting a paper in aface-up state, hitherto, print data which is received from theinformation processing apparatus in an ascending order is spooled by anamount of all pages and a printing process is started from the lastpage. However, in the recent printer driver, with respect to the printerfor performing the face-up paper ejection, the spooling process isexecuted on the host side before the print data is formed, the printdata is transmitted to the printer in a descending order, and it issufficient that the printer starts the printing process in the receivingorder. Therefore, there is no need to provide spooling means for theprinter side and the reduction of the costs can be expected. In the casewhere such a printing in the descending order is executed by the driverand a duplex printing is further performed by the printer, the number ofentire pages of a print job (the number of pages when data whoseprinting is desired is arranged on an actual recording paper:hereinafter, referred to as the number of physical pages or physicalpage number) is discriminated, and in case of the print job in which thenumber of physical pages is equal to an odd number, the last page isprinted as a blank page on which nothing is printed. Therefore, uponforming of the print job, the driver inserts the print data whose outputresult indicates a blank page to the last page and inserts a command forinstructing that a blank page saving is not performed into the printdata, thereby keeping a style in the actual duplex print mode.

In the future, in the printer having such a technical background, thereis considered a case of performing a charging process on the basis ofthe number of print copies which is counted up by a counter for countingthe number of printed sheets (specifically speaking, the number of(scanned) faces on which images have been formed by an image formingunit is counted). In the printer for performing the duplex printing asmentioned above, however, if the number of physical pages which areprinted is equal to the odd number, for example, if the physical pagenumber indicates 3 pages, a blank page is printed to the last page (thefourth page) corresponding to the reverse side of the third page.However, even in case of the blank page on-which nothing is printed, asdescribed above, since the print data of the blank page (this point isalso similarly applied to a case of a new line or a new page) hasactually been inserted, an image forming is also performed to the blankpage (the blank page is also scanned). Therefore, the count-up operationis performed by regarding it as the number of print surfaces, so thatthe charging process is executed. There is a problem such thatinconvenience is caused to the user. Even if the count value is not usedfor the charging process, in the case where the user made a maintenancecontract such that a maintenance fee is different in accordance with thecount value, there is a problem such that a similar inconvenience iscaused.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is made in consideration of the above problems and it isan object of the invention to provide an information processingapparatus, a print data forming method, and a memory medium in which acomputer-readable program has been stored, in which in case of allowinga printing process in which a last page is set to a blank page to becontrolled in a printer for performing a duplex printing, print datasuch that a count-up by a counter for counting the number of times of animage forming process in the printer is not performed is formed.

To accomplish the above object, according to the invention, there isprovided an information processing apparatus for forming print data tobe print-processed by a printer, comprising: designation receiving meansfor receiving designation of a duplex printing; discriminating means fordiscriminating the number of pages in the case where data to be printedhas been arranged on a recording paper; and command adding means forreceiving the designation of the duplex printing by the designationreceiving means and, in the case where it is determined by thediscriminating means that the number of pages of the recording paper onwhich the data to be printed has been arranged is equal to an oddnumber, adding a command to urge a forced paper ejection in the printerlest a blank page of a last page is logically counted in the printer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a construction of a printercontrol system showing an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a construction of a typical printsystem of a host computer to which a printer is connected;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a construction of a print system fortemporarily spooling an intermediate code before a print command from anapplication is converted into a printer control command;

FIG. 4 is a diagram explaining the printer in the invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processes in a spooler 302;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a print control in a spool file manager304;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processes in a despooler 305;

FIG. 8 shows an example of a user interface picture plane for inputtinga print setting which is provided by a printer driver;

FIG. 9 shows an example of a user interface picture plane for performinga print spool setting which is provided by the printer driver;

FIG. 10 shows an example of a job setting file which is generated by aspool file manager;

FIG. 11 shows an example of job setting information shown in a field1002 of the job setting file;

FIG. 12 shows an example of physical page information shown in a field1004 of the job setting file;

FIG. 13 shows an example of physical page setting information shown in afield 1202 of physical page information;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a data format which issupplied from the spool file manager 304 to the despooler 305 when aprint request of a physical page is issued;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a setting changing process by a settingeditor 307;

FIG. 16 shows an example of a picture plane for displaying a list ofprint jobs spooled by the spool file manager 304;

FIG. 17 shows an example of a picture plane of a previewer 306;

FIG. 18 shows an example of a picture plane of the setting editor 307;

FIG. 19 shows an example of a processing flow for the despooler 305 inthe invention;

FIG. 20 shows an example of the processing flow of the despooler 305 inthe invention;

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 shows an example of a command for urging issuance of a forcedejection command of a device of the invention;

FIG. 23 shows an example of obtaining a corresponding situation of theforced ejection command of the device of the invention; and

FIGS. 24A and 24B are diagrams showing a relation between a printsurface in a paper ejecting unit and a print surface of a printed matterand a page order of the print data which is transmitted from theinformation processing apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments suitable for applying the invention will be describedhereinbelow.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a construction of a printercontrol system showing the embodiment of the invention. The inventioncan be applied to any of a single apparatus, a system comprising aplurality of apparatuses, and a system which is connected through anetwork such as LAN, WAN, or the like and executes processes so long asfunctions of the invention are executed.

In the diagram, reference numeral 3000 denotes a host computer(hereinafter, also simply referred to as a host) which is suitable forthe information processing apparatus of the invention and has a functionfor inserting a command for allowing a printer to execute a forced paperejection as necessary as will be explained hereinlater. The host 3000has a CPU 101 for executing a process of a document in which figures,images, characters, tables (including a spreadsheet and the like), andthe like exist mixedly on the basis of a document processing program orthe like stored in a program ROM of an ROM 103 or in an external memory111. The CPU 101 integratedly controls each device connected to a systembus 104.

An operating system program (hereinafter, abbreviated to “OS”) or thelike as a control program of the CPU 101 is stored into the program ROMof the ROM 103 or into the external memory 111. Font data and the likewhich are used in the document process are stored into a font ROM of theROM 103 or into the external memory 111. Various data which is used whenthe document process is executed is stored into a data ROM of the ROM103 or into the external memory 111. An RAM 102 functions as a mainmemory, a work area, or the like of the CPU 101.

A keyboard controller (KBC) 105 controls a key input from a keyboard(KB) 109 or from a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC)106 controls a display of a CRT display (CRT) 110.

Reference numeral 107 denotes a disk controller (DKC) for controlling anaccess to the external memory 111 such as hard disk (HD), floppy disk(FD), or the like for storing a boot program, various applications, fontdata, a user file, an edit file, a printer control command formingprogram (hereinafter, referred to as a printer driver), and the like. Aprinter controller (PRTC) 108 is connected to a printer 1500 through abidirectional interface (interface or I/F) 121 and executes acommunication control process with the printer 1500.

The CPU 101 executes, for example, a developing (rasterizing) process ofan outline font into a display information RAM set on the RAM 102,thereby enabling WYSIWYG on the CRT 110 to be realized. The CPU 101opens various registered windows on the basis of commands instructed bya mouse cursor or the like (not shown) on the CRT 110 and executesvarious data processes. When executing the printing, by opening a windowregarding the setting of the printing, the user can set a printprocessing method for the printer driver including the setting of theprinter and the selection of a print mode.

Reference numeral 1500 denotes the printer for executing a printoutputting process of the print data formed by the host 3000 as aninformation processing apparatus and has a function for performing aforced paper ejection or a duplex printing in response to a command fromthe host. The printer 1500 is controlled by a CPU 112. The printer CPU112 outputs an image signal as output information to a print unit(printer engine) 117 connected to a system bus 115 on the basis of acontrol program or the like stored in a program ROM of an ROM 113 or acontrol program or the like stored in an external memory 114. A controlprogram and the like of the CPU 112 are also stored in the program ROMof the ROM 113. Font data and the like which are used when the outputinformation is formed are stored in a font ROM of the ROM 113. In caseof a printer without the external memory 114 such as a hard disk or thelike, information and the like which are used on the host computer havebeen stored in a data ROM of the ROM 113.

The CPU 112 can perform a communicating process with the host computerthrough an input unit 118 and can notify the host 3000 of theinformation or the like in the printer. An RAM 119 is an RAM whichfunctions as a main memory, a work area, or the like of the CPU 112 andis constructed so that its memory capacity can be expanded by an optionRAM which is connected to an expansion port (not shown).

The RAM 119 is used as an output information rasterizing area, anenvironmental data memory area, or the like. An access to the externalmemory 114 such as hard disk (HD), IC card, or the like mentioned aboveis controlled by a memory controller (MC) 120. The external memory 114is connected as an option and stores front data, an emulation program,form data, and the like. An operation panel 1501 comprises switches foroperation, an LED display, and the like.

The external memory 114 is not limited to one memory but can be alsoconstructed in a manner such that a plurality of memories are providedand, besides built-in fonts, option cards and a plurality of externalmemories in which programs for interpreting printer control languages ofdifferent language systems have been stored can be connected. Further,it is also possible to have an NVRAM (not shown) and store printer modesetting information from the operation panel 1501.

The printer 1500 of the embodiment has a counter which counts up thenumber of printed sheets in accordance with a process such that imagesare formed by the printer engine 117, that is, a laser beam is scanned.

FIG. 2 is a constructional diagram of a typical printer system in thehost computer to which a printing apparatus such as a printer or thelike is directly connected or connected via a network. An application201, a graphic engine 202, a printer driver 203, and a system spooler204 exist as files held in the external memory 111 and are programmodules which are loaded into the RAM 102 by the OS or a module usingsuch a module in the case where they are executed and executed. Theapplication 201 and printer driver 203 can be added onto the FD orCD-ROM (not shown) of the external memory 111 or onto the HD of theexternal memory 111 via the network (not shown). Although theapplication 201 held in the external memory 111 is loaded into the RAM102 and executed, when the printer 1500 is allowed to print from theapplication 201, the print data is outputted (drawn) by using thegraphic engine 202 which has similarly been loaded into the RAM 102 andcan be executed.

The graphic engine 202 similarly loads the printer driver 203 preparedevery printer into the RAM 102 from the external memory 111 and sets anoutput of the application 201 into the printer driver 203. The graphicengine 202 converts a GDI (Graphic Device Interface) function as a drawoutput (constructed by a function which is defined by the OS) which isreceived from the application 201 into a DDI (Device Driver Interface)function which can be interpreted by the printer driver 203 and shouldbe outputted and outputs the DDI function to the printer driver 203.

The printer driver 203 is shown as a suitable example of the printcontrol program of the invention. On the basis of the DDI functionreceived from the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203 converts itinto a control command, for example, a PDL (Page Description Language)which can be recognized by the printer. The converted printer controlcommand is transmitted by the OS through the system spooler 204 loadedinto the RAM 102 and outputted as print data to the printer 1500 via theinterface 121.

In addition to the print system comprising the printer and host computershown in FIG. 2, the print system including the information processingapparatus of the embodiment further has a construction for temporarilyspooling the print data from the application by intermediate code dataas shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows a system obtained by expanding thesystem of FIG. 2. This system has a construction such that when a printcommand (DDI function) is sent from the graphic engine 202 to theprinter driver 203, a spool file 303 comprising an intermediate code isformed once. In the system of FIG. 2, the application 201 is releasedfrom the printing process at a point of time when the printer driver 203finishes to convert all of the print commands from the graphic engine202 into the control commands of the printer. In the system of FIG. 3,the application 201 is released when a spooler 302 converts all of theprint commands (DDI functions) into the intermediate code data andoutputs them to the spool file 303. Unlike intermediate draw data whichis generally formed by the printer at the start of the printing, withrespect to the intermediate code data, since the rasterization or thelike of the data is not performed, a time which is required until theapplication 201 is released from the printing process in case of thelatter method of using the spool format is usually shorter than theformer method. In the system shown in FIG. 3, contents in the spool file303 can be modified as will be explained hereinlater with reference toFIG. 9 and the like. Thus, a function which the application does nothave, that is, a function such as zooming (enlargement or reduction),print mode for reducing a plurality of pages and printing them into onepage, or the like can be realized for the print data from theapplication.

To realize those purposes, the system of FIG. 2 is expanded so as tospool the print commands by the intermediate code data as shown in FIG.3. To modify the print data, ordinarily, a setting is performed from awindow which is provided by the printer driver 203 and the printerdriver 203 holds the setting contents into the RAM 102 or externalmemory 111.

The details of FIG. 3 will be described hereinbelow. Each block in FIG.3 shows a functional module and will be explained by using each moduleas a subject. However, actually, it is realized by a method whereby theCPU 101 executes the process on the basis of each program module (whichhas been stored in the ROM 103 or external memory 111 and is read outand stored into the RAM 102).

As shown in the diagram, according to the expanded processing method, adispatcher 301 receives the DDI function as a print command from thegraphic engine 202. If the print command (DDI function) received by thedispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 is based on the print command(GDI function) issued from the application 201 to the graphic engine202, the dispatcher 301 loads the spooler 302 stored in the externalmemory 111 into the RAM 102 and sends the print command (DDI function)to the spooler 302 instead of the printer driver 203.

The spooler 302 analyzes the received print command (DDI function),converts it into the intermediate code on a page unit basis, and outputsit to the spool file 303 on a page unit basis. The term “page unit” usedhere denotes a page divided by the application (hereinafter, called alogical page), and it does not denote a page which is ejected by theprinter (hereinafter, called a physical page). The spool file of theintermediate codes stored on a logical page unit basis is called a pagedraw file (PDF: Page Description File). The spooler 302 obtains printsetting information as a print setting (N-up, duplex, staple,color/monochromatic designation, etc.) regarding the print data set byan input instruction from the user from the printer driver 203 withrespect to the user interface which is provided by the printer driver203, and stores it as a file of a job unit into the spool file 303. Thesetting file stored on a job unit basis is called a job setting file(abbreviated to SDF: also called a Spool Description File). This spooldescription file will be explained hereinlater.

Although the spool file 303 is generated as a file into the externalmemory 111, it can be also formed in the RAM 102. Further, the spooler302 loads a spool file manager 304 stored in the external memory 111into the RAM 102 and notifies the spool file manager 304 of a generatingsituation of the spool file 303. After that, the spool file manager 304discriminates whether the printing can be performed in accordance withthe contents of the print setting information as a print settingregarding the print data stored in the spool file 303 or not. Thisdiscrimination is made by discriminating whether the data which is drawnon the physical page (in case of a descending order printing, the lastphysical page; in case of a booklet printing, this page changes independence on a fascicle designation or the like) in which the jobstored in the spool file 303 is first print-processed by the printer hasbeen spooled or not. In the case where the relevant job is designationof “print” or “mail box” in accordance with the designation of the kindof job in FIG. 9, it is sufficient to make the discrimination asmentioned above. However, if it is the designation of “store” or“preview”, since a preview and an editing process onto the host computerare accepted, even if the above discrimination is made, the print outputis not performed but only the display output of the preview isperformed.

In case of performing the print output on the basis of the abovediscrimination result, the following processes are executed. If thespool file manager 304 determined that the printing can be performed byusing the graphic engine 202, a despooler 305 stored in the externalmemory 111 is loaded into the RAM 102 and an instruction is issued tothe despooler 305 so as to execute the printing process of the pagedescription file of the intermediate code described in the spool file303.

The despooler 305 modifies the PDF of the intermediate code included inthe spool file 303 in accordance with the SDF including the printsetting information included in the spool file 303 and forms the GDIfunction again such that each logical page may match the physical page.The GDI function is outputted again via the graphic engine 202 inconsideration of a new page command so that the printing process isperformed every physical page. The graphic engine 202 as a part of theOS converts the draw command (GDI function) from the despooler 305 intothe print command (DDI function) in a manner similar to the draw commandfrom the application 201.

In the case where the print command (DDI function) received by thedispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 is based on the print command(GDI function) issued from the despooler 305 to the graphic engine 202,the dispatcher 301 sends the print command to the printer driver 203instead of the spooler 302.

The printer driver 203 forms the printer control command comprising thepage description language or the like on the basis of the DDI functionobtained from the graphic engine 202 and outputs it to the printer 1500via the system spooler 204.

Further, FIG. 3 shows an example in which in addition to the expansionsystem described so far, a previewer 306 and a setting editor 307 arearranged, thereby enabling a preview, a change in print setting, or acombination of a plurality of jobs to be performed.

In order to perform the print preview, change in print setting, orcombination of a plurality of jobs, the user first needs to designate“store” in a pull-down menu as means for performing “designation ofoutput destination” in a property of the printer driver shown in FIG. 9.If the user wants to see only the preview, such an operation can be alsoperformed by selecting “preview” as designation of the outputdestination.

Contents set by the property of the printer driver as mentioned aboveare stored into a structure (called “DEVMODE” in the Windows OS) whichis provided as a setting file by the OS. In this structure, for example,a setting about whether the data is stored into the spool file manager304 or not is included in the print setting included in the spool file303. The spool file manager 304 reads the print setting through theprinter driver and if the “store” is designated, the PDF and SDF aregenerated and stored into the spool file 303 as mentioned above. Awindow picture plane of the spool file manager is popped up as shown inFIG. 16 and a list of the jobs spooled in the spool file 303 isdisplayed. FIG. 16 shows an example in which four jobs have beenspooled. By pressing a menu bar or a menu icon under it, the operationof the job can be performed. The number of operations of the menu barand that of the menu icon are equal. As kinds of operations, there arefollowing twelve operations in a state where the job has been selected:“print”; “save and print” for printing while the spool file of theintermediate codes are left as they are; “preview” for seeing an outputpreview of the job which takes into consideration the print setting;“delete” for deleting the spool file of the intermediate codes; “copy”for forming a copy of the spool file of the intermediate codes;“combine” for obtaining one job by combining the jobs in the spool fileof a plurality of intermediate codes; “divide” for dividing the combinedjob into a plurality of original jobs; “job edit” for changing the printsetting (layout setting, finishing setting, or the like) of the singlejob or combined job; “move to head” for setting the print order of acertain job to the first order; “move upward by one” for making theprint order of a certain job earlier by one; “move downward by one” fordelaying the print order of a certain job by one; and “move to the last”for setting the print order of a certain job to the last order.

In the case where the preview of a certain single job or the combinedjob is designated on the window picture plane (FIG. 16) of the spoolfile manager, the previewer 306 stored in the external memory 111 isloaded into the RAM 102 and an instruction is issued to the previewer306 so as to execute a previewing process of the job of the intermediatecode described in the spool file 303.

The previewer 306 sequentially reads out the page description files(PDFs) of the intermediate codes included in the spool file 303,modifies them in accordance with contents of the print settinginformation included in the spool description file (SDF) stored in thespool file 303, and outputs the GDI function to the graphic engine 202.The graphic engine 202 outputs the draw data to the self client area,thereby enabling the data to be outputted on the screen.

The graphic engine 202 can perform a proper rendering in accordance withthe designated output destination. Thus, in a manner similar to thedespooler 305, the previewer 306 can be realized by a method whereby theintermediate codes included in the spool file 303 are modified inaccordance with the contents of the print setting included in the spoolfile 303 and outputted by using the graphic engine 202. As mentionedabove, the print setting set by the printer driver is stored as a spooldescription file into the spool file 303 and the data of the pagedescription file is modified on the basis of the spool description fileand outputted. Thus, how the actual draw data is printed can be providedto the user and, further, a print preview close to a print image that isoutputted by the printer in accordance with each of the following casescan be provided to the user: that is, a case where the N-up mode (layoutprocess for reducing N logical pages, arranging them into one physicalpage, and printing) has been designated, a case where the duplexprinting has been designated, a case where the booklet printing has beendesignated, a case where a stamp has been designated, and the like.According to the preview function which the conventional applicationsoftware such as document forming or the like has, since data is drawnon the basis of the page setting in the application, the print settingin the printer driver is not reflected, and it is impossible to allowthe user to recognize the preview which is actually printed andoutputted.

By executing the previewing process as mentioned above, a large previewof the print setting of the printing included in the spool file 303 asshown in FIG. 17 is displayed on the screen by the previewer 306. Afterthat, the previewer 306 is closed by a non-display instruction of theuser. A control routine is shifted to the window picture plane (FIG. 16)of the spool file manager.

If the user performs the printing in accordance with the contentsdisplayed by the previewer 306, the print request is issued byinstructing “print” or “save and print” on the spool file manager 304.As mentioned above, with respect to the print request, the pagedescription file is modified on the basis of the spool description fileand the GDI function is generated by the despooler 305 and transferredto the graphic engine 202. A print command is sent to the printer driver203 via the dispatcher 301 and the printing is executed.

A setting change using the setting editor 307 will now be described.

As a method of realizing the setting change, the setting is possiblewith respect to the job which was designated to “store” in FIG. 9 in amanner similar to the preview. By a similar flow, the spool file manager304 is popped up and a list of the spooled jobs is displayed. When “jobedit” is designated and a setting change instruction is issued on thewindow picture plane (FIG. 16) of the spool file manager, the settingeditor 307 stored in the external memory 111 is loaded into the RAM 102,and the setting editor 307 is instructed so as to display the present ordefault print setting. A job setting picture plane as shown in FIG. 18is displayed.

The setting editor 307 obtains the spool description file of the job inwhich “job edit” has been designated from the spool file 303 and changesa default value of the job setting picture plane of FIG. 18 on the basisof the setting items designated in the spool description file. In theexample shown in FIG. 18, the number of copies: 1, a printing method:simplex, staple: none, layout: 1 page/sheet, etc. have been designatedin the spool description file of the job in which “job edit” has beendesignated.

Also according to the setting editor 307, the page description file ofthe intermediate codes included in the spool file 303 is modified inaccordance with the contents of the print setting included in the spooldescription file stored in the spool file 303 and outputted to its ownclient area by using the graphic engine 202, so that a small preview canbe outputted onto the screen shown in FIG. 18.

The print setting included in the spool description file stored in thespool file 303 can be changed and corrected here. In this instance, evenif the user interface on the setting editor 307 has the items which canbe set by the printer driver 203, the user interface of the printerdriver 203 itself can be also called. As shown in FIG. 18, a fraction, aprinting method (simplex, duplex, booklet printing), staple (saddlefinisher or the like), a page layout, an arranging order, and the likecan be designated. By pressing “detail”, most of the items which can bedesignated by the printer driver can be reset. However, it is assumedthat a change in setting regarding print quality such as resolution,graphic mode, or the like is not permitted.

With respect to the changed items, the change is authenticated inresponse to an authenticating request on the setting editor 307 and thecontrol is shifted to the spool file manager 304. With respect to thesetting items whose change was authenticated, the change of the printsetting is held. However, it is not held in the original spooldescription file but a job setting file which is used in the job editionor the like is newly generated and held. The details of the job settingfile will be explained hereinlater in FIG. 10 and subsequent drawings.

If the user performs the printing in accordance with the setting changecontents in a manner similar to the confirmation in the previewer 306,the print request is issued on the spool file manager 304. The printrequest is sent to the graphic engine 202, the print command is suppliedto the printer driver 203 via the dispatcher 301, and the printing isexecuted.

On the window picture plane (FIG. 16) of the spool file manager, it isalso possible to designate the system in a manner such that a pluralityof print jobs are combined and the printing is performed as one printjob. In a manner similar to the preview and the setting change, the jobin which the output destination is designated to “store” in the propertyof the printer driver in FIG. 9 is used as a prerequisite.

When the user combines the print jobs, first, the printer driver 203 iscalled from the application 201 and “store” is selected on the userinterface as shown in FIG. 9. In a manner similar to that mentionedabove, the files are stored into the spool file 303 by this selectionand the window picture plane (FIG. 16) of the spool file manager ispopped up as shown in FIG. 16. A list of the spooled jobs is displayedon the window of the spool file manager. By executing the similaroperation from the application 201, a list of a plurality of jobs isdisplayed on the spool file manager 304.

When a plurality of jobs are selected and “combine” is designated, thesetting editor 307 stored in the external memory 111 is loaded into theRAM 102 and the setting editor 307 is instructed so as to display thehead job on the list or the print setting of default. A combined settingpicture plane as shown in FIG. 18 is displayed. Although the settingeditor 307 is used as a combined setting picture plane here, anothermodule can be also used.

The setting editor 307 modifies the page description file of theintermediate codes included in the spool file 303 in accordance with thecontents of the print setting included in the job setting informationstored in the spool file 303 and outputs it to the self client area byusing the graphic engine 202 in response to all of the jobs designatedas a combined job, thereby outputting on the screen. In this instance, asmall preview of all of the selected jobs can be performed to thepreview area shown in FIG. 18. When the combined job is formed, the jobsetting file in which the spool description file of each single job hasbeen expanded is generated. The job setting file is also generated incase of performing the job edition, one file is generated for one job,and one file is generated also in case of the combined job.

In response to each job, it can be displayed in the print setting beforecombining or can be also changed and corrected to a united print settingand displayed as a combined job. In this instance, the user interface onthe setting editor 307 can also have the items which can be set by theprinter driver 203 or the user interface of the printer driver 203itself can be also called.

With respect to the combined job and the changed items, the change isauthenticated in response to the authenticating request on the settingeditor 307 as mentioned above, and the control is shifted to the spoolfile manager 304. By those operations, a plurality of jobs which wereselected before are displayed as one combined job on the window of thespool file manager.

If the user performs the printing in accordance with the setting changecontents in a manner similar to the confirmation in the previewer 306,the print request is issued on the spool file manager 304. The printrequest is sent to the graphic engine 202, the print command is sent tothe printer driver 203 via the dispatcher 301, and the printing isexecuted.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a color laser printer having aduplex printing function as an example of the printer 1500.

According to this printer, a laser beam modulated by image data of eachcolor obtained on the basis of the print data inputted from the hostcomputer 3000 is scanned onto a photosensitive drum 15 by a polygonmirror 31, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image. Theelectrostatic latent image is developed with toner to thereby obtain avisible image. The visible images are multiplexingly transferred onto anintermediate transfer material 9 with respect to all colors, therebyforming a color visible image. The color visible image is transferredonto a transfer material 2 (also called a recording medium) and thecolor visible image is fixed onto the transfer material 2 as a recordingpaper. An image forming unit for performing the above control isconstructed by: a drum unit 13 having the photosensitive drum 15; aprimary charging unit having a contact-type charging roller 17; acleaning unit; a developing unit; a paper feeding unit including theintermediate transfer material 9, a sheet cassette 1, and variousrollers 3, 4, 5, and 7; a transfer unit including a transfer roller 10;and a fixing unit 25. It is assumed that a counter (not shown) counts upwhenever the laser beam is scanned onto the photosensitive drum 15 bythe polygon mirror 31.

The drum unit 13 is formed by integratedly assembling the photosensitivedrum (photosensitive material) 15 and a cleaner tank 14 which has acleaning mechanism and also functions as a holder of the photosensitivedrum 15. The drum unit 13 is detachably supported to the printer mainbody and can be easily exchanged in accordance with a life of thephotosensitive drum 15. The photosensitive drum 15 is constructed bycoating an organic photoconductive material layer onto an outerperiphery of an aluminum cylinder and rotatably supported to the cleanertank 14. A driving power of a drive motor (not shown) is transferred tothe photosensitive drum 15, so that the drum is rotated. The drive motorrotates the photosensitive drum 15 counterclockwise in accordance withthe image forming operation. By selectively exposing the surface of thephotosensitive drum 15, the electrostatic latent image is formed. In ascanner unit 30, the modulated laser beam is reflected by the polygonmirror which is rotated by a motor 31 a synchronously with a horizontalsync signal of the image signal and irradiates the photosensitive drumthrough a lens 32 and a reflecting mirror 33.

In order to develop the electrostatic latent image into a visible image,the developing unit comprises: three color developing devices 20Y, 20M,and 20C for developing the images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan(C); and one black developing device 21B for developing the image ofblack (B). The color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C and the blackdeveloping device 21B have: sleeves 20YS, 20MS, 20CS, and 21BS; andcoating blades 20YB, 20MB, 20CB, and 21BB which are come into pressurecontact with outer peripheries of the sleeves 20YS, 20MS, 20CS, and21BS, respectively. Coating rollers 20YR, 20MR, and 20CR are providedfor the three color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C.

The black developing device 21B is detachably attached to the printermain body. The color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C are detachablyattached to a developing rotary 23 which rotates around a rotary axis 22as a rotational center, respectively.

The sleeve 21BS of the black developing device 21B is arranged so as tohave a micro interval of, for example, about 300 μm for thephotosensitive drum 15. The black developing device 21B conveys toner bya feeding member built therein and applies charges to the toner byfrictional charging so as to be coated by the coating blade 21BB ontothe outer periphery of the sleeve 21BS which rotates clockwise. Byapplying a developing bias to the sleeve 21BS, the development isperformed to the photosensitive drum 15 in accordance with theelectrostatic latent image, thereby forming a visible image onto thephotosensitive drum 15 by the black toner.

The three color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C are rotated inassociation with the rotation of the developing rotary 23 upon formingof the image, so that a predetermined one of the sleeves 20YS, 20MS, and20CS faces the photosensitive drum 15 so as to have a micro interval ofabout 300 μm. Thus, the predetermined one of the color developingdevices 20Y, 20M, and 20C stops at a developing position which faces thephotosensitive drum 15 and a visible image is formed onto thephotosensitive drum 15.

Upon forming of the color image, the developing rotary 23 is rotatedevery rotation of the intermediate transfer material 9. The developingsteps are executed in the order of the yellow developing device 20Y,magenta developing device 20M, cyan developing device 20C, and blackdeveloping device 21B. The intermediate transfer material 9 is rotatedfour times. The visible images by the toner of yellow, magenta, cyan,and black are sequentially formed. Thus, a full color visible image isformed onto the intermediate transfer material 9.

The intermediate transfer material 9 is constructed so as to be comeinto contact with the photosensitive drum 15 and rotated in associationwith the rotation of the photosensitive drum 15. Upon forming of thecolor image, the intermediate transfer material 9 is rotated clockwiseand subjected to a multiple transfer of the visible image of four timesfrom the photosensitive drum 15. Upon forming of the image, the transferroller 10, which will be explained hereinlater, is come into contactwith the intermediate transfer material 9 and sandwiches and conveys thetransfer material 2 in cooperation with the intermediate transfermaterial 9, thereby simultaneously multiplexingly transferring the colorvisible images on the intermediate transfer material 9 onto the transfermaterial 2. A TOP sensor 9 a and an RS sensor 9 b for detecting theposition with respect to the rotating direction of the intermediatetransfer material 9 and a concentration sensor 9 c for detecting aconcentration of the toner image transferred onto the intermediatetransfer material are arranged on the outer peripheral portion of theintermediate transfer material.

The transfer roller 10 has a transfer charging device supported so as tobe come into contact with or removed from the photosensitive drum 15 andformed by winding a foam elastic material having a middle resistancearound a metal axis.

As shown by a solid line in FIG. 4, the transfer roller 10 is apart fromand located below the intermediate transfer material 9 while the colorvisible image is multiplexingly transferred onto the intermediatetransfer material 9. After the color visible images of four colors areformed onto the intermediate transfer material 9, the transfer roller 10is moved to an upward position shown by a dotted line shown in thediagram by a cam member (not shown) in accordance with timing fortransferring the color visible image onto the transfer material 2. Thus,the transfer roller 10 is come into pressure contact with theintermediate transfer material 9 through the transfer material 2 by apredetermined pressing force and a bias voltage is applied thereto, sothat the color visible image on the intermediate transfer material 9 istransferred onto the transfer material 2.

The fixing unit 25 fixes the transferred color visible image whileconveying the transfer material 2 and has: a fixing roller 26 forheating the transfer material 2; and a pressing roller 27 for allowingthe transfer material 2 to be come into pressure contact with the fixingroller 26. Each of the fixing roller 26 and pressing roller 27 is formedin a hollow shape and heaters 28 and 29 are built in them, respectively.That is, the transfer material 2 holding the color visible image isconveyed by the fixing roller 26 and pressing roller 27 and the toner isfixed onto the surface of the transfer material 2 by applying heat andpressure.

After the visible image was fixed, the transfer material 2 is ejected toa face-down paper ejecting unit 37 by paper ejecting rollers 34, 35, and36 and the image forming operation is finished.

Cleaning means is provided for cleaning the toner remaining on thephotosensitive drum 15 and intermediate transfer material 9. The draintoner remaining after the visible image by the toner formed on thephotosensitive drum 15 was transferred onto the intermediate transfermaterial 9 or the drain toner remaining after the color visible imagesof four colors formed on the intermediate transfer material 9 weretransferred onto the transfer material 2 is stored into the cleaner tank14.

The transfer material (recording paper) 2 onto which the image data isprinted is picked up from the paper feed tray 1 by the paper feed roller3 and conveyed in a state where it is sandwiched between theintermediate transfer material 9 and transfer roller 10. A color tonerimage is recorded onto the transfer material 2. Thereafter, therecording paper 2 passes through the fixing unit 25 and the toner imageis fixed. In case of the simplex print mode, a conveying path is formedso that a flapper (guide member) 38 guides the recording paper to theupper paper ejecting unit. In case of the duplex print mode, however, aconveying path is formed so that the flapper 38 guides the recordingpaper to a duplex unit provided at a lower stage of the printer mainbody.

The recording paper guided to the duplex unit is fed once to a lowerportion (conveying path shown by an alternate long and two dashes line)of the tray 1 by a conveying roller 40 and, thereafter, it is conveyedin the opposite direction and fed to a duplex path 39. On the duplexpath 39, the obverse/reverse state of the paper and the front/back stateregarding the conveying direction are opposite to those in a state whereit is put on the paper feed tray 1. In this state, the recording paperis conveyed again in the direction of the photosensitive drum 15. Bytransferring and fixing the toner image again, the duplex print can beperformed.

Reference numeral 41 denotes a face-up paper ejecting unit. Therecording paper on which the toner was fixed is ejected by the conveyingroller 40 in a face-up state where the print surface faces upward. Theprinter (printing apparatus) as a transmission destination of the printdata, which will be explained in the embodiment has the face-up paperejecting unit 41 and face-down paper ejecting unit 37.

A feature of the invention will now be described with respect to apreferred embodiment.

A memory medium in which a program (printer driver 203 (which can alsoinclude the dispatcher 301, spooler 302, spool file manager 304, anddespooler 305)) for generating the print data to be print-processed bythe printer as a printing apparatus which is suitable for the inventionhas been stored is implemented into the information processing apparatusso that each program module can be executed. The information processingapparatus (host computer 3000) includes: a designation receiving modulefor receiving the designation of the duplex print from the printerdriver 203 (the spool file manager 304 receives it through the spooler302); a discriminating module (despooler 305) for discriminating thenumber of entire pages in the case where the print data which isprint-processed in the printer is arranged onto the recording paper; anda command adding module (despooler 305) for receiving the designation ofthe duplex print by the designation receiving module and, when it isdetermined by the discriminating module that the number of entire pageson the recording paper on which the data to be printed has been arrangedis equal to an odd number, adding a command to urge the forced paperejection in the printer lest the blank page of the last page islogically counted in the printer.

The information processing apparatus further includes a user interfaceproviding module (printer driver 203) for providing user interfaces (UIshown in FIGS. 8, 9, 18, etc.) for designating the print setting. Thedesignation receiving module receives the designation of the duplexprint in accordance with the print setting which is inputted through theuser interface.

The command which is used for urging the forced paper ejection and addedby the command adding module is a paper designating command to designatea paper size different from the paper size designated at present by theprinting process.

The information processing apparatus further includes: a spooling module(spooler 302) for converting the print command (DDI function) which isreceived by the application (201) through the OS (graphic engine 202)into an intermediate data format and temporarily storing it; and adespooling module (despooler 305) for issuing the print command (GDIfunction) again to the OS by a data format that is outputted by theapplication from the stored data. In the case where the duplex print isdesignated and the number of pages of the recording paper on which thedata to be printed has been arranged is equal to the odd number, thedespooling module issues a print command added with an escape command(FIG. 22) so that the command to urge the forced paper ejection is addedin the command adding step.

The information processing apparatus further includes a print dataforming module (printer driver 203) for forming the print data(including the printer control command) which is processed in theprinter on the basis of the print command (DDI function) which isreceived through the OS (graphic engine 202). If the paper is ejected tothe face-up paper ejecting unit (paper ejecting unit 41) in the printerin which the printing process of the reverse side is first executed inthe duplex print mode, when the duplex print mode is designated and thenumber of pages of the recording paper on which the data to beprint-processed in the printer has been arranged is equal to the oddnumber, the print data forming module forms the print data whose pageorder has been controlled so that the face-down paper ejection isexecuted in the face-up paper ejecting unit (FIG. 24B).

If the paper is ejected to the face-down paper ejecting unit (paperejecting unit 37) in the printer in which the printing process of thereverse side is first executed in the duplex print mode, when the duplexprint mode is designated and the number of pages of the recording paperon which the data to be print-processed in the printer has been arrangedis equal to the odd number, the print data forming module forms theprint data whose page order has been controlled so that the face-uppaper ejection is executed in the face-down paper ejecting unit (FIG.24A).

Characteristic processes of the invention will now be describedhereinbelow with reference to a flowchart when it is seen from eachmodule.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processes in a page-unit holding step inthe generation of the spool file 303 in the spooler 302. As mentionedabove, the processes in this flowchart will be also described by usingeach module as a subject. However, it is realized by a method wherebythe CPU 101 executes each process on the basis of the program codesdescribed in each module.

First, in step 501, the spooler 302 receives the print request from theapplication through the graphic engine 202. In the application, adialogue for inputting the print setting as shown in FIG. 8 is displayedand the print setting inputted from this dialogue is sent from theprinter driver to the spooler 303. In the setting input diagram shown inFIG. 8, a setting item 801 to decide the number of logical pages whichare arranged on one physical page and the like are included.

In step 502, the spooler 302 discriminates whether the received printrequest is a job start request or not. If it is determined in step 502that it is the job start request, step 503 follows. The spooler 302generates the spool file 303 for temporarily storing the intermediatedata. Subsequently, in step 504, the spooler 302 notifies the spool filemanager 304 of job progress of the printing process. In step 505, acount value of a page number counter of the spooler 302 is initializedto “1”. In the spool file manager 304, the information of the job, theprint setting, and the like with respect to the job whose printing hasbeen started are read out from the spool file 303 and stored.

If it is determined in step 502 that the received print request is notthe job start request, step 506 follows.

In step 506, the spooler 302 discriminates whether the received printrequest is a job end request or not. If it is determined in step 506that it is not the job end request, step 507 follows and whether it is anew-page request or not is discriminated. If it is determined in step507 that it is the new-page request, step 508 follows. The spooler 302notifies the spool file manager 304 of the job progress of the printingprocess. The count value of the page number counter is increased by “1”.The page description file in which the intermediate codes have beenstored is closed and the next page description file is generated.

If it is determined in step 507 that the received print request is notthe new-page request, step 509 follows. The spooler 302 prepares forwriting the intermediate codes into the page description file.

Subsequently, in step 510, the spooler 302 executes the process forconverting the print request into the intermediate code of the DDIfunction in order to store the print request into the spool file 303. Instep 511, the spooler 302 writes the print request (intermediate code)converted into a form which can be stored in step 510 into the pagedescription file in the spool file 303. After that, the processingroutine is returned to step 501 and the print request from theapplication is received again. The series of processes in steps 501 to511 is continued until the job end request (End Doc) is received fromthe application. The spooler 302 simultaneously obtains the informationsuch as print setting and the like stored in the DEVMODE structure fromthe printer driver 203 and stores it as a spool description file intothe spool file 303. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 506that the print request from the application is the job end request,since all of the print requests from the application are finished, step512 follows. The spooler 302 notifies the spool file manager 304 of jobprogress of the printing process. The processing routine is finished.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the details of the control between theprocess for generating the spool file 303 and a print data formingprocess, which will be explained hereinlater in the spool file manager304.

In step 601, the spool file manager 304 receives the notification of thejob progress of the printing process from the spooler 302 or despooler305.

In step 602, the spool file manager 304 discriminates whether thenotification of the job progress is a notification of the print startfrom the spooler 302 that is notified in step 504 mentioned above ornot. If YES, step 603 follows, the print setting is read out from thespool file 303 and the management of the job is started. If it isdetermined in step 602 that it is not the print start notification fromthe spooler 302, step 604 follows. The spool file manager 304discriminates whether the notification of the job progress is anotification of the print end of one logical page from the spooler 302that is notified in step 508 mentioned above or not. If it is decided instep 604 that it is the print end notification of one logical page, step605 follows. The logical page information corresponding to this logicalpage is stored. In subsequent step 606, whether the printing of onephysical page can be started for n logical pages whose spooling has beenfinished at this time point or not. If YES, step 607 follows and thephysical page number is determined from the number of logical pageswhich are allocated to one physical page to be printed.

With respect to the calculation of the physical page, for example, incase of the print setting such that four logical pages are arranged onone physical page, the first physical page can be printed when thefourth logical page has been spooled. Subsequently, the second physicalpage can be printed when the eighth logical page has been spooled.

Even if the number of entire logical pages is not a multiple of thenumber of logical pages which are arranged on one physical page, thenumber of logical pages which are arranged on one physical page can bedetermined by the spool end notification in step 512.

In step 608, the information of the numbers of the logical pagesconstructing the physical page which can be printed, the physical pagenumber, and the like is stored into the job setting file (file includingthe physical page information) in a format as shown in FIG. 10. Thedespooler 305 is notified of the fact that the physical page informationof an amount as much as one physical page has been added. After that,the processing routine is returned to step 601 and the apparatus waitsfor the next notification. In the embodiment, even if all of the spoolsof the print job are not finished, the printing process can be executedwhen one page of the print data, that is, the logical pages constructingone physical page have been spooled.

If it is decided in step 604 that the notification of the job progressis not the job end notification of one logical page from the spooler302, step 609 follows. The spool file manager 304 discriminates whetherthe notification of the job progress is the job end notification fromthe spooler 302 that is notified in step 512 mentioned above or not. Ifit is the job end notification, step 606 follows. If NO, step 610follows and the spool file manager 304 discriminates whether thereceived notification is the print end notification of one physical pagefrom the despooler 305 or not. If it indicates the print endnotification of one physical page, step 611 follows and whether theentire printing of the print setting has been finished or not isdiscriminated. If YES, step 612 follows and the despooler 305 isnotified of the print end. If it is determined in step 611 that theprinting for the print setting is not finished yet, step 606 follows. Inthe embodiment, the despooler 305 presumes that the number of physicalpages is set to one as a unit of executing the printing process. In step608, the information necessary for executing the printing process of onephysical page is successively stored into the file in a form such thatit can be used again. In the case where it is unnecessary to use itagain, however, it is also possible to construct the apparatus in amanner such that a processing speed and an amount of resources are savedby a method of sequentially overwriting the information on a physicalpage unit basis by using a high-speed memory medium such as a commonmemory or the like. If the job progress speed of the spool is fasterthan that of the despool or if the despool is started from the end ofthe spool of all pages, page printability is not notified every physicalpage in step 608 but contents showing that a plurality of physical pagesor all physical pages can be printed in accordance with the job progresson the despool side are notified, thereby enabling the number of timesof notification to be saved.

If it is determined in step 610 that the received notification is notthe print end notification of one physical page from the despooler 305,step 613 follows. The spool file manager 304 discriminates whether itindicates the print end notification from the despooler 305 or not. Ifit is determined that the notification is the print end notificationfrom the despooler 305, step 614 follows. The spool file manager 304deletes the relevant page description file in the spool file 303 andfinishes the processing routine. If it is not the print end notificationfrom the despooler 305, step 615 follows. The apparatus executes otherordinary processes and waits for the next notification.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing details of the print data forming processin the despooler 305.

The despooler 305 reads out the necessary information (page descriptionfile and spool description file) from the spool file 303 in response tothe print request from the spool file manager 304 and forms the printdata. A method of transferring the formed print data to the printer isas described in FIG. 3.

In the forming of the print data, first, in step 701, the despooler 305receives the notification from the spool file manager 304. In subsequentstep 702, the despooler 305 discriminates whether the receivednotification is the job end notification or not. If it is the job endnotification, step 703 follows and an end flag is set to ON. Theprocessing routine advances to step 705. If it is not the job endnotification in step 702, step 704 follows. The despooler 305discriminates whether the print start request of one physical page instep 608 has been notified or not. If it is determined in step 704 thatthe print start request is not notified, step 710 follows and othererror process is executed. The processing routine is returned to step701. The apparatus waits for the next notification. If it is decided instep 704 that the print start request of one physical page has beennotified, step 705 follows. The despooler 305 stores an ID of theprintable physical page which received the notification in step 704. Instep 706, the despooler 305 discriminates whether the printing processhas been finished with respect to all pages of the physical page IDstored in step 705 or not. If the process of all physical pages has beenfinished, step 707 follows and whether the end flag has been set to ONin step 703 or not is discriminated. If the end flag is ON, it isregarded that the printing of the job has been finished. The spool filemanager 304 is notified of the end of the process of the despooler 305.The processing routine is finished.

If it is decided in step 707 that the end flag is not ON, the processingroutine is returned to step 701 and the apparatus waits for the nextnotification. If it is decided in step 706 that the printable physicalpage remains, step 708 follows. The despooler 305 sequentially reads outthe IDs of the unprocessed physical pages from the stored physical pageIDs, reads the information necessary for forming the print data of thephysical pages corresponding to the read-out physical page IDs, andexecutes the printing process.

In the printing process, the print request command stored in the spoolfile 303 is converted into the format (GDI function) which can berecognized by the graphic engine 202 in the despooler 305 andtransferred.

With respect to the print setting such that a plurality of logical pagesare arranged on one physical page (hereinafter, referred to as an N-upprinting) as described in the embodiment, the print request command isconverted in consideration of a reduction layout in this step. Aftercompletion of the necessary printing process, in subsequent step 709,the spool file manager 304 is notified of the end of forming of theprint data of one physical page. The processing routine is returned tostep 706 and the above processes are repeated until the printing processis executed with respect to all of the printable physical page IDsstored in step 705.

A flow of the printing process using the dispatcher 301, spooler 302,spool file manager 304, and despooler 305 has been described above. Byprocessing as mentioned above, since the application 201 is releasedfrom the printing process at timing when the spooler 302 forms theintermediate code and stores it into the spool file 303, the processingtime is shorter than the time which is required in case of directlyoutputting to the printer driver 203. Since the intermediate code istemporarily stored into the spool file 303 as an intermediate file (pagedescription file, spool description file) which takes into considerationthe print setting of the printer driver, the user is enabled torecognize the print preview for the actual printing or the print jobsformed by a plurality of applications can be combined or rearranged.Also in case of changing the print setting, the user is enabled tochange the print setting without activating the application and printingagain.

In the printing process using the spooler 302, the job setting file isgenerated when the graphic engine 202 is requested to print by thedespooler 305. However, also in case of showing the preview, performingthe job combination, or the like, the job setting file is generated. Thejob setting file is equivalent to the spool description file in case ofthe single job and is generated on the basis of a plurality of jobsetting information in case of the combined job. The job setting filewill now be described.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the job setting file which holds theinformation constructing the printable physical pages which are formedby the spool file manager 304 in step 608. A field 1001 is an ID foridentifying the job and can be also held in a form of a name of the fileor common memory which holds the information. A field 1002 is jobsetting information. The job setting information includes theinformation necessary for allowing the graphic engine 202 to start theprinting of the job such that only one information can be set for onejob, that is, the information such as structure, designation of the N-upprinting, designation of an additional drawing such as a page frame, thenumber of copies, finishing designation such as staple, and the like.The information of the necessary number is held in the job settinginformation 1002 in accordance with the function for the job. A field1003 is the number of physical pages of the job and it indicates thatthe physical page information of such a number has been stored afterthis field. In the embodiment, since the method whereby the number ofprintable physical pages is notified is used, the apparatus can operateeven if this field does not exist. After that, the physical pageinformation as many as the number of fields 1003 is stored in the fieldsin a range from a field 1004 to the last field. The physical pageinformation will be described with reference to FIG. 12.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the job setting information shown in thefield 1002 in FIG. 10. A field 1101 is the number of entire physicalpages. A field 1102 is the number of entire logical pages. The fields1101 and 1102 are added to the print data and used in the case where thenumber of pages or the like is printed as additional information, or thelike. When the printing is continuing, both fields are set to tentativevalues or the spool file manager 304 postpones the forming of theinformation of the printable physical pages until the printing isfinished. A field 1103 is copy number information for designating howmany copies of the present print job are printed. A field 1104 isdesignation for discriminating whether the print job is printed on acopy unit basis or not in the case where the mode for printing aplurality of copies has been set in the field 1103. A field 1105 isfinishing information such as staple, punch, Z-folding, or the like, andit is designated in the case where there is a finisher in the printermain body or outside. A field 1106 is additional print information. Thatis, additional information such as decoration such as a page frame orthe like, date, and the like and information such as user name, thenumber of pages, watermark printing, and the like which are added to thejob are stored in the field 1106. As the number of functions increases,the number of fields included in the job setting information alsoincreases. For example, when the duplex printing is possible, a field tohold the designation of the duplex printing is added.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the physical page information shown in thefield 1004 in FIG. 10. A first field 1201 is a physical page number andis a value which is used when the printing order is managed or thephysical page number is additionally printed. A field 1202 is physicalpage setting information. If a layout and color/monochromatic can bedesignated every physical page, the setting of the layout andcolor/monochromatic is held. A field 1203 is the number of logical pageswhich are allocated to the present physical page. In case of allocatingfour logical pages to one physical page, “4” or an ID indicative of the4-page printing is held. In a field 1204 and subsequent fields, theinformation of the logical pages as many as the number designated in thefield 1203 is held. In dependence on the number of pages printed fromthe application 201, there is a case where the number of actual pagedata is smaller than the number of pages designated in the field 1203.In such a case, special data indicative of a space page is held in thelogical page information.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the physical page setting information 1202.A field 1301 is a layout order of the logical pages onto the physicalpage, and designation of the N-up printing and the order (from the upperleft in the lateral direction, downward from the upper left, etc.) ofarranging the logical pages onto the physical page is held. Depending onthe system, it is not limited to the layout order. There is also a casewhere the logical page information in the field 1204 and subsequentfields is arranged not in the order of the page numbers but in the orderaccording to the layout order, thereby substituting the setting of 1301.A field 1302 is information of obverse/reverse in the duplex print modeand used, for example, when binding margins of the obverse and reversesides are matched. A field 1303 is designation of a color page or amonochromatic page. If the printer has a monochromatic mode and a colormode, in a document in which the color page and the monochromatic pageexist mixedly, the field 1303 is set to a value which is used in thecase where the user wants to print the color page in the color mode andprint the monochromatic page in the monochromatic mode, or the like. Bypossessing this information, in the color printer, the process can bechanged on a page unit basis as an auto color mode. That is, in case ofthe color page, the intermediate transfer material (an intermediatetransfer drum, an intermediate transfer belt) or the transfer material(a transfer drum, a transfer belt) is rotated the number of times asmany as the number of device colors, for example, four times in case offour colors Y, M, C, and K, and in case of the monochromatic page, it isrotated once only with respect to the black color, thereby enabling thetransfer control to be performed. A field 1304 is additional printinformation and used in case of printing the additional information suchas the number of pages, date, and the like onto the physical page. Alsowith respect to the physical page setting information, fields are addedin accordance with the functions of the system.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the physical page information shown at 1204.A field 1401 is an ID of the logical page. By using this ID, theintermediate code in the page description file corresponding to thelogical page is referred to from the spool file 303. It is sufficientthat the intermediate code of the logical page can be accessed by usingthis ID. A file or a memory pointer can be also used or it is possiblethat the intermediate code itself constructing the logical page has beenstored. A field 1402 is a logical page number and used in case ofprinting the logical page number as additional information or used forauxiliary information of the logical page ID. Various setting itemswhich can be set on a logical page unit basis are held in the formatinformation of a field 1403. For example, information of varioussettings such as additional print information like a page frame and thelike, enlargement, and the like which are designated on a logical pageunit basis is held. If necessary, it is also possible to store attributeinformation such as color/mono information or the like of the logicalpage unit for the logical page. On the contrary, the field 1403 isunnecessary in a system such that it is unnecessary to switch thesettings on a logical page unit basis or in a system such that theattribute information of the logical page unit is unnecessary.

The job setting file is constructed as mentioned above. The spooldescription file is also almost similar to that mentioned above and hasa print style (simplex, duplex, booklet printing), print layout (N-upprinting, poster printing), additional information (addition of awatermark, a date, and a user name), the number of copies, and papersize information as jobs, and it is constructed by the layout order ofthe logical pages, the obverse/reverse in the duplex print mode, thecolor mode, and the like every physical page.

Further, FIG. 3 shows an example in which in addition to the expansionsystem described so far, the setting editor 307 having the job settingchanging function has been arranged. In the embodiment, with respect tothe setting contents of the job, the single job is included in the spooldescription file, the combined job is included in the job setting fileshown in FIG. 10, and they are independent of the spool file 303 inwhich the intermediate codes have been stored. Therefore, the setting ofthe job can be changed by remaking the job setting file. The settingeditor 307 remakes the job setting file by itself or in an interlockingmanner with the spool file manager 304 or rewrites a part of the jobsetting file, thereby realizing the setting changing function of thejob.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing details of the job setting changingprocess in the setting editor 307.

First, in step 1501, the setting editor reads the spool description fileor the job setting file. The job setting file is the same file as thefile which is read by the previewer 306 or despooler 305. Subsequently,step 1502 follows and a read result is displayed to the user. In step1503, an interactive operation with the user is performed on a userinterface as shown in FIG. 18 and the setting contents are changed bythe designation of the menu as mentioned above, or the like. Thisprocessing step is not limited to the interactive style but can be alsoexecuted in a batch style such that the setting is changed in accordancewith the contents of the setting change written in the file or the like.Subsequently, the processing routine advances to step 1504 and thesetting editor discriminates whether the current designated settingcontents have been changed from the contents which were read out firstin step 1501 or not. If the setting contents have been changed, step1505 follows. A new job setting file is formed, the spool file manageris notified of the presence of the change, and the processing routine isfinished. If it is decided in step 1505 that there is no change, thespool file manager is notified of the absence of the change and theprocessing routine is finished. Although the new job setting file isformed as mentioned above, by selecting an “OK” button on the userinterface picture plane of FIG. 18, the new job setting file isvalidated and the old job setting file is deleted. In case of the spooldescription file of the single job, the old job setting file is heldwithout being deleted instead of obtaining a new job setting file bychanging the job setting file.

If a “restore” (to return to the initial state) button is selected onthe user interface picture plane of FIG. 18, the new job setting file isdeleted and the old job setting file is validated and reflected to thedisplay. Although the embodiment has been described on the assumptionthat the setting editor 307 is another module, it can be also merely apart of the user interface of the spool file manager 304. It is notalways necessary that the setting editor 307 actually writes the changecontents into the job setting file, but it is also possible to use astyle such that the spool file manager 304 is notified of only thecontents of the setting change and the actual change of the job settingfile is performed on the spool file manager 304 side.

In FIG. 3, further, the expansion system such that a plurality of printjobs are combined and printed as one print job is shown. An expansionfor despooling and previewing the combined job will now be described.

Ordinarily, the spool file 303 in the intermediate form is formed on ajob unit basis. In case of the single job, since the intermediate codesof the respective logical pages in the processing target job file aresequentially read out and processed, the logical page ID in the field1401 can be realized by a relative or absolute offset showing at whichposition in the file each logical page is located. In case of thecombined job, it is necessary to specify the spool file and the pageinformation belonging to the job from the job ID in the field 1401. Inthe embodiment, a method of specifying the spool file by adding the IDto identify the spool file to the logical page ID is used. In this case,it is sufficient to change the field 1401 as a main change point. Thisis because if the spool file can be identified, the reading of the pageportion can be processed by the same logic as that of the process of thesingle job. If the spool file has been held in a form of the differentfile every logical page, the file name of the logical page can be alsoset as it is to the logical page ID in the field 1401.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a flowchart for an outline of thecharacteristic portion of the invention. A processing flow of theinvention will be described with reference to the flowchart.

As mentioned above, in the series of printing process, the despooler 305which received the print command from the spool file manager 304 firstdiscriminates whether the page to be despooled relates to the printingto the reverse side or not by a discriminating process 1901 ofdiscriminating whether the printing is a reverse printing or not. Incase of outputting to the obverse, since the process is out of theprocessing routine of the invention, the processing routine advances toother processing 1905.

Now, assuming that a page (a) in FIG. 21 is outputted, since the processrelates to that for the reverse side, it is determined that adiscrimination result indicates the output to the reverse side. Adiscriminating process 1902 for discriminating whether the page is apage in which a blank page printing is expected or not is executed. Asshown in FIG. 21, if the number of entire physical pages is equal to anodd number and the print mode is the duplex print mode and thedescending order printing, it is necessary to output the page (a) as ablank page. The spool file manager 304 receives the designation of theduplex printing from the printer driver 203 by using the DEVMODE or thelike. Although the explanation is returned, the user interfaces of FIGS.8, 9, 18, and the like are provided by the printer driver 203 anddisplayed by a display unit (CRT 110) through the OS. The print settingis inputted in accordance with the operation of the KB 9 or pointingdevice by the user. The printer driver 203 holds each print setting(including the printing method such as duplex printing, bookletprinting, or the like, the page layout such as N-up printing, posterprinting, or the like, the paper size information, and the like)inputted through the user interface as print setting information andsends it to the spool file manager 304 as necessary. When the presentpage is other than the last page or if the number of entire physicalpages is equal to an even number, it is determined that the page is notthe page in which the blank page is expected. A despooling process 1903of the next page is executed. It is the despooling process of theordinary page. Assuming that the page (a) is outputted, it is determinedthat the page is the page in which the blank page is expected. In nextstep, an issuing process 1904 of a command to execute a forced paperejection in the printer as a device to print the print data is executed.

In the conventional technique, in the case where the duplex printing andthe descending order printing are designated and the number of entirephysical pages is equal to the odd number, the case where the duplexprinting, the ascending order printing, and the number of copies (copyunit basis) are designated and the number of entire physical pages isequal to the odd number, or the like, the print data serving as a blankpage is printed to the reverse side or a form feed command is issued (ablank page saving cancelling command is also inserted), therebyperforming the paper ejection. According to this method, since the imageforming process (scan of the laser) is executed as a blank page in theprinter, the counter of the print device counts up such a blank page asthe number of print processing sheets. When changing by using this countvalue, the blank page also becomes a charging target. To solve such aproblem, the issuing process 1904 of the command for urging the issuanceof the forced ejection command of this device is a command serving as atrigger for issuing the forced ejection command which does not become acharging target, that is, in which the image forming process (scan ofthe laser) is not executed in the printer. The despooler 305 issues aspecial escape or the like as shown in FIG. 22 to, for example, theprinter driver 203 (through the graphic engine 202) (Esc in this diagramis a specific No. to urge issuance of the forced ejection command of thedevice). In response to this command, the printer driver 203 issues thecommand for urging the deice to forcedly eject the paper to the device.A form of the forced ejection command is not limited so long as thedevice ejects the paper without regarding it as a count-up target. Forexample, if the printing device itself has the command of the forcedpaper ejection which is not counted up, it is sufficient to use such acommand. If the printing device does not have the forced ejectioncommand, a resetting by a virtual paper can be performed, that is, it isalso possible to use a method whereby the printer driver 203 inserts adesignating command of a paper size different from the paper sizedesignated by the present print job into the print data and the ejectionof the paper existing on the duplex path is urged by the printingdevice, or the like.

In the present LIPS driver (LIPS is a registered trademark of CanonInc.), as a command adapted to the forced ejection command of theprinter, the paper ejection is performed by the following method.

After the special escape is received, the printer driver issues a pageformat selecting command (LIPS) different from the current paper size(DEVMODE: dmPaperSize) and soon issues the same command for returning itto the original paper size.

Specifically speaking, the printer driver issues the page formatselecting command (LIPS) for setting the paper size to “Letter” when thecurrent paper size is equal to A4 and to “A4” when it is other than A4,thereby performing a process to return the paper size to the originalsize. The paper size is not limited to the A4 and Letter sizes.

For example, in the case where the size is equal to A4 and there arethree physical pages, timing for issuing the command by the printerdriver is set as follows.

-   -   StartDoc( )    -   StartPage( )    -   ESC[11 p (paper feed command)    -   ESC[14 p (page format selecting command (LIPS) A4 is designated)    -   (14 indicates the ID of A4 portrait. In case of Letter, 30)    -   ESC[2;1 # x (duplex print control command (LIPS))    -   (the portion of 1 shows the print mode and the order of        front-back)    -   - - - third page data - - -    -   SendPage( )    -   Escape(ID:0x2500) The special escape is received from the        despooler.    -   ESC[30 p (page format selecting command (LIPS) Letter is        designated)    -   ESC[14 p (page format selecting command (LIPS) A4 is designated)    -   StartPage( )    -   ESC[11 p (paper feed command)    -   - - - first page data - - -    -   SendPage( )    -   StartPage( )    -   ESC[11 p (paper feed command)    -   - - - second page data - - -    -   SendPage( )    -   EndDoc( )

By issuing the above-mentioned commands from the printer driver asmentioned above, the device ejects the recording medium withoutexecuting the image forming process (scan of the laser) to the blankpage, so that the paper ejection is realized without regarding the blankpage as a target of the count-up which is executed by the counter.

By the above series of processes, the paper ejecting process of thereverse side is executed without making the blank page as a chargingtarget. Thus, the inconvenience which is caused the user by the chargingfor the blank page can be solved.

Since the embodiment has been described by using the printer using themethod of counting the number of times of the image forming processwhich is executed by the laser scan, the problem is solved by issuingthe command for preventing the image forming process from beingexecuted. However, according to the invention, by taking intoconsideration a possibility that the blank page becomes the chargingtarget, it is an object to solve such a problem. If the blank page isnot counted as a charging target, the object of the invention is finallyaccomplished. Therefore, an effect similar to that of the presentinvention can be also obtained even by a count control such that as anumber of physical pages, even if the blank page is also counted, it isnot counted as a number of pages as charging targets, in other words,the blank page is not logically counted.

Most of the printers start the process from the printing process of thereverse side in the duplex print mode because of a device limitation. Insuch a printer, if the forced paper ejection is executed in the casewhere the blank page has to be inserted as a reverse side, there is acase where the printing process of the obverse side cannot be executed.With respect to such a printer, the following control by the printerdriver 203 and despooler 305 is executed.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B, in a general printer whichstarts the process from the printing process of the reverse side in theduplex print mode, a paper ejecting unit for performing the face-downpaper ejection (the print surface serving as an obverse faces downward)and a paper ejecting unit for performing the face-up paper ejection (theprint surface serving as an obverse faces upward) exist.

In a printer for ejecting the recording medium (recording paper) to theface-down paper ejecting unit, as shown in FIG. 24A, by controlling thepage order by the printer driver side (including the despooler 305) asif the recording medium after the ejection were ejected in a face-upstate, it seems as if the obverse side were first printed in theprinter.

That is, in case of ejecting the recording paper to the face-down paperejecting unit shown in FIG. 24A, if the print mode is the duplex printmode and the number of physical pages is equal to the odd number, thepage order (order outputted from the despooler 305) which is formed bythe printer driver 203 is the descending order opposite to the normalascending order, that is, the order of the eighth (forced ejectioncommand), seventh, sixth, fifth, fourth, third, second, and first pages.In case of starting the duplex printing of “the eighth and seventhpages” as first physical pages, “the seventh page (when the user takesthe printed matter, it is the obverse side to him)” corresponding to thereverse side (page face which was fed later) of the page ordertransmitted from the host computer is first processed. When the printingdevice processes “the eighth page (when the user takes the printedmatter, it is the reverse side to him)” corresponding to the obverseside, since the number of physical pages of this print job is equal tothe odd number, the apparatus receives the command (in case of theembodiment, the paper size change command) to urge the forced paperejection which was inserted by the printer driver 203 and executes theforced paper ejection without performing the printing process of theobverse side (reverse side to him). Thus, this page is not counted up bythe counter, that is, the charging process for this page is notexecuted. After completion of the forced paper ejection, the printingprocess of the sixth to first pages is executed (the image forming orderin the printer is set to the order of the fifth, sixth, third, fourth,first, and second pages), so that the printed matters arranged in thepage order (refer to FIG. 24A) similar to that obtained as if byejecting the paper to the face-down paper ejecting unit in the face-upstate are obtained.

In case of ejecting the recording paper to the face-up paper ejectingunit shown in FIG. 24B, if the print mode is the duplex print mode andthe number of entire physical pages is equal to the odd number, the pageorder (order outputted from the despooler 305) which is formed by theprinter driver 203 is the order obtained by further exchanging theobverse/reverse sides in the ascending order opposite to the ordinarydescending order, that is, the order of the second, first, fourth,third, sixth, fifth, eighth (forced ejection command), and seventhpages. In case of starting the duplex printing of “the second and firstpages” as first physical pages, “the first page (when the user takes theprinted matter, it is the obverse side to him)” corresponding to thereverse side (page face which was fed later) of the page ordertransmitted from the host computer is first processed. Subsequently, theprinting device processes “the second page (when the user takes theprinted matter, it is the reverse side for him)” corresponding to theobverse side, and the printing processes are sequentially executed tothe processes of “the sixth and fifth pages”. In case of performing theduplex printing of “the eighth and seventh pages” as last physicalpages, “the seventh page (when the user takes the printed matter, it isthe obverse side to him)” corresponding to the reverse side is firstprint-processed. After that, when the printing device processes “theeighth page (when the user takes the printed matter, it is the reverseside to him)” corresponding to the obverse side, since the number ofphysical pages of this print job is equal to the odd number, theapparatus receives the command (in case of the embodiment, the papersize change command) to urge the forced paper ejection which wasinserted by the printer driver 203 and executes the forced paperejection without performing the printing process of the obverse side(reverse side to him). Thus, this page is not counted up by the counter,that is, the charging process for this page is not executed.Consequently, the printed matters arranged in the page order (refer toFIG. 24B) similar to that obtained as if by ejecting the paper to theface-up paper ejecting unit in the face-down state are obtained.

As described above, according to the invention, even in the printerwhich first print-processes the reverse side, the page order iscontrolled by the information processing apparatus side (printer driver203 including the despooler 305) so as to eject the papers in a statewhere the print surfaces have been reversed and the command to urge theforced paper ejection is transmitted to the printer, thereby making itpossible to prevent the blank page data which has been charged forhitherto from becoming the charging target.

There is also a method whereby an adaptivity situation of the deviceforced ejection command is discriminated and either the mode to issuethe forced ejection command of the invention mentioned above or the modeto issue the command to insert the blank page data as in theconventional apparatus is selected.

In a manner similar to the foregoing embodiments, a series of operationswill now be described with reference to FIG. 20. In the despooler 305which received the print command from the spool file manager 304,whether the page to be despooled relates to the printing to the reverseside or not is made by a discriminating process 2001 for discriminatingabout the reverse printing. In case of outputting onto the obverse side,since the process is out of the present processing routine of theinvention, other processing 2005 is executed. Now, presuming a case ofoutputting the page (a) in FIG. 21, since it relates to the process forthe reverse side, it is determined that the print data is outputted tothe reverse side. Whether the page is a page in which the blank pageprinting is expected or not is made by a discriminating process 2002. Ifthe number of entire physical pages is equal to the odd number and theprint mode is the descending order printing as shown in FIG. 21, it isnecessary to print the page (a) as a blank page. In case of the pageother than the last page or if the number of entire physical pages isequal to the even number, it is determined that the page is not the pagein which the blank page printing is expected. A despooling process 2008of the next page is executed. This process is the despooling process ofthe normal page.

In case of presuming the output of the page (a), it is determined thatthe page is the page in which the blank page printing is expected. Anadaptivity obtaining process 2003 of the forced ejection command of thenext device is executed. It is a process for obtaining a discriminationresult about whether the device or driver is adapted to the forcedejection command or not. For example, if a command to urge issuance ofthe forced ejection command which will be issued later is the specialescape, a special escape as shown in FIG. 23 can be also similarly used(Esc in FIG. 23 denotes a specific number to urge issuance of the forcedejection command of the device), or a special interface can be alsoused. Thus, information about whether the forced ejection command can beused or not is obtained.

A discriminating process 2004 for discriminating whether the devicesupports the forced ejection command or not is executed. It is a processfor discriminating the information of the forced ejection command whichhas already been obtained. If it is now determined that the device isnot adapted to the forced ejection command, a next blank page insertingprocess 2007 is executed. It is a process for ejecting the reverse pageby inserting the print data serving as a blank page in a manner similarto the conventional technique. If it is decided that the device isadapted to the forced ejection command, an issuing process 2006 of thecommand to urge issuance of the forced ejection command of the nextdevice is executed.

According to the issuing process 2006 of the command to urge issuance ofthe forced ejection command of the next device, a command serving as atrigger of issuing the forced ejection command which does not become thecharging target, for example, a special escape or the like is issued tothe printer driver. In response to such command, the printer driverissues the command to urge the forced paper ejection to the device. Aform of the command to urge the forced paper ejection is not limited ina manner similar to the foregoing embodiment so long as the deviceejects the paper without setting it as a target of the count-up. Forexample, if the printing device itself has the forced ejection commandwhich does not perform the count-up, it is sufficient to use it. If thedevice does not have such a command, a method whereby a resetting by avirtual paper is performed and the paper ejection is urged or the likecan be also used. By the above series of processes, the paper ejectingmethod that is optimum to the device can be selected.

The invention can be applied to a system comprising a plurality ofapparatuses (for example, a host computer, an interface apparatus, areader, a printer, and the like) or can be also applied to an apparatus(a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, or the like)comprising one equipment.

The object of the invention is also accomplished by a method whereby amemory medium in which program codes of software for realizing thefunctions of the embodiments mentioned above have been stored issupplied to a computer (or a CPU or an MPU) of a system or an apparatusand the computer reads out the program codes stored in the memory mediumand executes processes based on the program codes.

In this case, the program codes themselves read out from the memorymedium realize the functions of the embodiments mentioned above, and thememory medium in which the program codes have been stored constructs theinvention.

As a memory medium to supply the program codes, for example, it ispossible to use a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, amagnetooptic disk, an MO, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a DVD, a magnetic tape, anon-volatile memory card, an ROM, or the like.

The invention incorporates not only a case where the functions of theembodiments mentioned above are realized by a method whereby a computerexecutes the read-out program codes but also a case where on the basisof instructions of the program codes, an OS (Operating System) or thelike which is operating on the computer executes a part or all of theactual processes and the functions of the embodiments mentioned aboveare realized by those processes.

Further, the invention incorporates a case where the program codes readout from the memory medium are written into a memory provided for afunction expanding board inserted in a computer or a function expandingunit connected to the computer and, thereafter, a CPU or the likeprovided for the function expanding board or function expanding unitexecutes a part or all of the actual processes on the basis ofinstructions of the program codes, and the functions of the embodimentsmentioned above are realized by those processes.

As described above, according to the invention, the informationprocessing apparatus for forming the print data to be print-processed bythe printer has the command adding means constructed in a manner suchthat the number of pages in the case where the data to be printed isarranged on the recording paper is discriminated, the designation of theduplex printing is received, and when it is determined that the numberof pages of the recording paper on which the data to be printed has beenarranged is equal to the odd number, the command to urge the forcedpaper ejection in the printer is added lest the blank page of the lastpage is logically counted in the printer. Therefore, even if the numberof pages of the recording paper on which the data to be printed has beenarranged is equal to the odd number in case of performing the duplexprinting, the last blank page is not counted in the printer. Thus, aneffect such that even in case of executing the charging process by usingthe counter, the charging that is unnecessary for the user is not causedis obtained.

The information processing apparatus further has the user interfaceproviding means for providing the user interface to designate the printsetting and receives the designation of the duplex printing inaccordance with the print setting which is inputted through the userinterface. Therefore, in this case, the user can generally designate theduplex printing without performing any special designation.

Since the command to urge the forced paper ejection which is added bythe command adding means is the paper designating command to designatethe paper size different from the paper size designated by the printingprocess at present, even in the printing process for the printing devicewhich does not have the forced ejection command, the forced paperejection can be falsely performed.

The information processing apparatus further has: the spooling means forconverting the print command which is received by the applicationthrough the OS into the intermediate data format and temporarily storingit; and the despooling means for issuing the print command to the OS inthe data format such that the application extracts again from the datastored in the spooling means. In the case where the duplex printing isdesignated and the number of pages of the recording paper on which thedata to be printed has been arranged is equal to the odd number, thedespooling means issues the print command to which the escape commandhas been added by the command adding means so that the command to urgethe forced paper ejection is added. Therefore, even in the case wherethe print command is spooled and the descending order printing isperformed on the host computer side, it is possible to take intoconsideration the blank page of the last page.

The information processing apparatus further has the print data formingmeans for forming the print data which is processed by the printer onthe basis of the print command which is received through the OS. In thecase where the paper is ejected to the face-up paper ejecting unit inthe printer which first performs the printing process of the reverseside in the duplex print mode, the duplex printing is designated. Whenthe number of pages of the recording paper on which the data to beprinted has been arranged is equal to the odd number in the printer, theprint data forming means forms the print data whose page order has beencontrolled in a manner such that the face-down paper ejection isperformed in the face-up paper ejecting unit. Therefore, even for theprinter having the face-up paper ejecting unit which first performs theprinting process of the reverse side in the duplex print mode, theforced paper ejection control can be performed to the blank page of thelast page.

In the printer which first performs the printing process of the reverseside in the duplex print mode, when the paper is ejected to theface-down paper ejecting unit, if the duplex print mode is designatedand the number of pages of the recording paper on which the data to beprint-processed has been arranged is equal to the odd number in theprinter, the print data forming means forms the print data whose pageorder has been controlled in a manner such that the face-up paperejection is performed in the face-down paper ejecting unit. Therefore,even for the printer having the face-down paper ejecting unit whichfirst performs the printing process of the reverse side in the duplexprint mode, the forced paper ejection control can be also performed tothe blank page of the last page.

1. An information processing apparatus, as a host computer, forgenerating print data to be print-processed by a printer using a printerdriver, comprising: designation receiving means for receivingdesignation of a duplex printing via a user interface of the printerdriver; discriminating means for discriminating the number of pages of arecoding paper in the case where data to be printed has been arranged onthe recording paper; generating means for generating, in the case wherethe designation of the duplex printing is received by said designationreceiving means and it is determined by said discriminating means thatthe number of pages of said recording paper on which the data to beprinted has been arranged is equal to an odd number, print data whichcan be interpreted by the printer by using (a) the data to be printedand (b) a predetermined command such that a blank page of a last page isnot charged in the printer; and sending means for sending the print datagenerated by said generating means to the printer, wherein saidgenerating means generates the print data by using the data to beprinted and a predetermined command such that the blank page is countedas a physical page but not counted as a page for charge.
 2. An apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising spooling means for temporarilystoring a print command which is output by an application and forcounting the number of pages.
 3. A method for an information processingapparatus, as a host computer, of generating print data to beprint-processed by a printer using a printer driver, comprising: adesignation receiving step of receiving designation of a duplex printingvia a user interface of the printer driver; a discriminating step ofdiscriminating the number of pages of a recoding paper in the case wheredata to be printed has been arranged on the recording paper; agenerating step of generating, in the case where the designation of theduplex printing is received in said designation receiving step and it isdetermined in said discriminating step that the number of pages of saidrecording paper on which the data to be printed has been arranged isequal to an odd number, print data which can be interpreted by theprinter by using (a) the data to be printed and (b) a predeterminedcommand such that a blank page of a last page is not charged in theprinter; and a sending step of sending the print data generated in saidgenerating step to the printer, wherein said generating step generatesthe print data by using the data to be printed and a predeterminedcommand such that the blank page is counted as a physical page but notcounted as a page for charge.
 4. A method according to claim 3, furthercomprising a spooling step of temporarily storing a print command whichis output by an application and for counting the number of pages.
 5. Acomputer-readable medium storing a computer program for an informationprocessing apparatus, as a host computer, for generating print data tobe print-processed by a printer using a printer driver, the programcomprising: a designation receiving step of receiving designation of aduplex printing via a user interface of the printer driver; adiscriminating step of discriminating the number of pages of a recodingpaper in the case where data to be printed has been arranged on therecording paper; a generating step of generating, in the case where thedesignation of the duplex printing is received in said designationreceiving step and it is determined in said discriminating step that thenumber of pages of said recording paper on which the data to be printedhas been arranged is equal to an odd number, print data which can beinterpreted by the printer by using (a) the data to be printed and (b) apredetermined command such that a blank page of a last page is notcharged in the printer; and a sending step of sending the print datagenerated in said generating step to the printer, wherein saidgenerating step generates the print data by using the data to be printedand a predetermined command such that the blank page is counted as aphysical page but not counted as a page for charge.
 6. A programaccording to claim 5, further comprising a spooling step of temporarilystoring a print command which is output by an application and forcounting the number of pages.